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She was looking, but I let her see.
I let her see it all.
I wanted to hurt her.
I wanted to destroy her.
She was the one I wanted to ruin, and when she felt I was genuine, she pushed open the door. “Come in.”
14
MACKENZIE
We had a camera set up from Maren’s bag, with audible. When she went inside, she moved it around, showing the room, and on the counter was what we needed to see.
“Why do you want to hurt Kellie Rispins so much?” I asked Troy.
He drew in a tight breath. “Why? Because she tried to blackmail me because she wanted something from Luis and his band.”
“Shocker,” Maren griped.
He shared a look with her. “She wanted them to let her tour with them this last summer. That one month.”
Maren had gone still. “She wanted to do what?”
“As you know, I got out of that.” But he swallowed, grimacing.
Dread took root in me. My mouth dried up as I asked, “How’d you do that?”
“I have these.” He pulled out a baggie of two blue pills. “I gave these to her instead.”
“What are they?”
“Let’s just say rich housewives all over the country enjoy these little pills. The high is euphoric and it lasts for days, but it’s the strongest in the first five hours. And it helps them lose weight. Kellie Bitchins loves these.” He grinned then, a slow, calculating one and picked up his phone, sending off a text.
“What’d you just do?” Maren barked.
“I just sent Kellie a text saying I owe her some happy pills. You want to get her talking? You do three things in a row. One, you wait until she’s gotten one of these in her system. Wait three to four hours. Then, you show up and you act defeated. Like you need her help. Like you’re desperate for her help. She’s going to already be high from one of these, and then you show up? A mark that she destroyed? One that she got away with whatever she did to you?”
Maren tensed. “How did you—”
“It’s written all over you. If I’d known before I met you, I would’ve helped you destroy her long before now, but I didn’t know.” His eyes cast my way. “I now know how you are pre-Jude, if you get what I mean. I’m sorry for whatever she did to you, but you’re right. She needs to be stopped.”
I spoke up, “What’s the third thing she needs to do? You said three things. The pill. Maren showing up and asking for her help. What’s the third?”
“She needs to kiss her ass, and I mean really kiss her ass. Lay it on thick. She’s a narcissist, and with all three things happening, she’s going to want to boast and brag, and Maren’s going to give her the perfect opportunity to sing like a fucking canary.”
“What about the pill, though? Won’t it look suspicious when you suddenly reach out to give her some?”
He stood up, sliding the baggie into his pocket. “No, because for the last two months, I’ve only given them when I needed something from her. She’ll expect me to show up in a few days and ask for a favor from her.”
I stood too. “What kind of favor?”
He paused, studying me. “The kind where she was trying to blackmail another friend of mine and I asked her to leave him alone. That kind. I don’t sell these. I get these from my doctor, but that doesn’t mean I take them myself. I’m not stupid. I don’t want to get fucked up. Kellie Rispins? I have no problem letting her get fucked up. Since she started taking these, I’ve seen her slowly start to go off the rails, but she’s going too slow, and if she hurt Maren? She deserves everything coming her way. Now, excuse me. I need to get these to her so we don’t have to wait until midnight to pump her for information.”
The baggie was there, and it was opened, and one pill was gone.
Maren began the rest.
